Poly Lecturers Pass Vote Of No Confidence In Management In Zamfara

Activities were temporarily disrupted by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, in  Zamfara State, when aggrieved lecturers embarked on a protest over the sorry state of infrastructure in the institution.

Speaking with newsmen, chairman of the union, Comrade Suraj Muhammad Funtua, noted that the academic staff had already passed a vote of no confidence in the management of the polytechnic.

“The Congress met and resolved to pass a vote of no confidence in the entire management of the institution because, for the past three years, there has not been accountability as to how the fund meant for the school is being appropriated,” he stated.

Stating that there were no functional laboratories for students’ practicals, he added that the eight laboratories were virtually empty, and the students’ hostels were in a state of complete dilapidation.

“There is no furniture in staff offices. There has been a poor supply of power in the institution for the past three years, as the generator in the polytechnic is not being utilised,” he added.

Reacting to the allegations, rector of the Polytechnic, Ahmad Luggard, said previously, the institution got between N16 and N18 million monthly, but the allocation had dropped to N6 million, and with accumulated debts, they could hardly do anything.

“Our major challenge is inadequate funds and we have limited power on that. The allegation that we have misappropriated N100 million is untrue and totally baseless because that is being handled by the governing council,” he stated.

In a related development, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (SSAN), Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, in Zamfara State, has raised the alarm that the management of the school had been issuing fake results to graduating  HND students of Mathematics and Computer Science.

This was disclosed by the chairman of SSAN, Comrade Hussaini Yusuf Gwandu, after an emergency meeting of the union, where it passed a vote of no confidence in the management of the Polytechnic, in Kaura Namoda, on Saturday.

Gwandu said: “When I came on board, I realised that the results the management issued to the graduating students is different from the course we run in the polytechnic.

“We have Mathematics and Computer Science, but for three years, the students were issued with Mathematics and Statistics results.

“After the affected students complete the one-year NYSC, the management of the polytechnic will now retrieve the results.

“There is no way the school authority can fault our claim as we are not only in possession of evidence, but we are part of the Polytechnic community.”

Gwandu maintained that they had informed the management that it was not proper because the students ought to be given mathematics and computer science results instead.

He blamed the management for its failure to get the department accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

“We run   17 courses in the polytechnic. Three of the courses are not accredited and these courses are mathematics and computer science, public administration and building technology,” he stated.

When contacted, deputy rector of the Polytechnic, Ahmad Muhammad Gusau, who spoke on behalf of the management of the institution, denied the allegation that fake results were issued to the students.

He said the school management was aware  of a petition to the minister, as well as to the governing council of the Polytechnic on the issue, and stated that “We cannot say anything until the investigation is concluded.”